More User Reviews:

An interesting offering for an Oktoberfest, from a brewery that ought to know a thing or two about the style!

This is perhaps the most distinctive Oktoberfest I've ever had.

First, it pours with an outstanding clarity and lightness. The color is light straw and clear as glass, completely translucent without a speck of haze. The head pours like a fluffy cloud, about 2-3 fingers for an aggressive pour. The head is about the purest white I've ever seen. If you'd not told me, I'd have thought this was one of the world's best pilsners.

The aromas are familiar for an Oktoberfest/Marzen, but lighter and more subtle--delicate. Cracker, bread, and a slight doughiness from the malts.

The flavors are crisp and astoundingly clean. A light sweetness showcases a refreshing and thirst-quenching pallet of flavors, that somehow are both in keeping with the style, and yet at the same time are more reminiscence of a fine pilsner (not that the two style are that far apart in terms of general character).

Mouthfeel is refreshingly, clean, light, and yet has a bit of chew to it. Really quite impressive the way it balances those traits.

Poured a rich golden body with two fingers of thick, persistent white head and moderate carbonation bubbles. Overall impression of appearance is of a perfect festbier, nothing wrong at all. Scents of spicy, floral Noble hops at moderate levels imparting aromas of jasmine with a high level of malt-derived aromatics giving aromas of light honey, doughy, bready aromas and light sweetness and toastiness. Overall impression of aroma is of a malt-forward, crisp, lightly sweet lager aroma with a nice level of hops, fitting the style of a domestic German festbier, rather than an export or American-brewed Oktoberfest. Very clean lager character and quite nice. Flavor begins malty, with the bready, doughy character of Pilsner malt and light notes of honey, softly sweet overall, with a medium-light hop bitterness and spicy, floral Noble hop flavors. Middle gains a light toasted malt flavor, though not dominant in comparison to the Pilsner malt, which is still bready and doughy, with medium bitterness and medium Noble hop flavors. Finish is crisp, yet not dry with malt persisting at high levels giving bready, doughy, honey and light toasted malt flavors while it is balanced by medium hop flavors and bitterness. Aftertaste is crisp with notes of doughy malt, honey and floral, spicy Noble hops. Overall impression of flavor is of a fantastic festbier, completely true to style and a very flavor overall profile. Expectations of an Oktoberfest or Marzen will leave you disappointed, but that is not the style of the beer. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and smooth, with a slight creaminess and moderate carbonation. Overall impression of mouthfeel is of a perfectly to style festbier. Overall this is a fantastic example of a festbier. All aspects of the beer are perfect for the style and the result is a wonderfully drinkable, crisp, flavorful lager.

Since it was the beginning of the Oktoberfest celebration in Germany, I had to go pick this one up at my local liquor store in order to celebrate the annual festival. I had actually gone to the store looking for another German Oktoberfest but I ended up with this one since my first choice was out of stock. Luckily, they had my second choice in stock, this one.

This beer pours a bright white head that is frothy in nature and dissipates quickly to a thin lacing that is retained. The beer itself is clear and golden in color with moderate carbonation visible. 4/5 The aroma is really very similar to a pilsner instead of the typical American Oktoberfest. Notes of pilsner malt, fresh white bread, biscuit, butter, and fresh cut grass really come out nicely and provide a very enticing aroma. The aroma is very clean and fresh. 4/5 The flavor is every bit like the notes of the aroma. As stated with the aroma, this comes off as more of a pilsner, or even a Helles lager, than an American Oktoberfest. Sweet caramelized malt, light toasted white bread and butter come out on the initial part of the sip along with a bit of biscuit. There is a light cracker to the middle along with a bit of graininess. The hops really shine through in the final third with grassy and noble hops making their appearance, providing a very clean flavor profile. There is a light bitterness that lingers lightly after swallowing along with a bit of green apple. 3.75/5 This beer features a light carbonation burn up front that leads into a light body that is wet and coating. The mouthfeel disappears from the palate entirely on swallowing and does not feature any dryness to speak of. 3.75/5 This is really an enjoyable Oktoberfest, just not the typical experience that I am used to when drinking this style. This beer drinks like a mix between Czech and German pilsners with the butteriness of the Czech coming through, and the clean bitter profile of the German. 4/5

Poured 330ml bottle into stein. Very nice looking golden wheat color with a 2.5 finger sandy white head. Leaves a collar and swaths of lacing around the glass. Aroma of grains, malts, and sweet bread. Light earthy hops. Lighter amount of malts, grain, sweet bread and hints of caramel. Light herbal and earthy hops give it a bit more, hints of spice. Nice Marzen style. On the lighter side with good carbonation with a dry finish. Smooth, clean and easy drinking even on a warm day. Ratings seem a bit low on this beer and I prefer it to the amber malt oktoberfest that flood the shelves in the US.

Appearance - Clear and pale golden colored beer. Some lively action from the bubbles within. A finger and a bit of rocky white head is poured retention is quite good. Minimal lacing left behind. Not nearly as copper colored as every other Oktoberfest beer I've ever had.

Smell - Autumn harvest. Some large grainy notes, a slightly earthy aroma and hints of autumn vegetables. Some slightly sweet aromas on the back end too. A certain grape-like aroma makes itself known too.

Taste - This one's a little different. Coarse grain flavors dominate with some vegetative notes (reminds me of fall, squash and pumpkin without ever remotely tasting like a gourd). A vinous grape-esque flavor appears mid sip. the big brazen caramel flavor I usually get from a Marzen, is silent here.

Mouthfeel - Very light, soft body. Carbonation is present but subtle which seems to be a theme from Weihenstephaner. Finish is dry.

Overall - Definitely a little different than many others in the style, to me it tastes like if you crossed and Oktoberfest and a Kolsch, added some Munich Helles Lager and spun it around you might get something like this. Of course Weihenstephaner is one of the best breweries in the world, so the delicacy in shaping those flavors and smells is divine. I can see why this may not have struck a cord with all drinkers, but definitely worth a try, and I'm hoping one day this will come to Ontario.

BODY: Clear clean yellow. Filtration is obvious. No yeast is visible within. So transparent one could easily read text through this beer.

It's a clean, crisp looking festbier and is spot-on for the style, but isn't unique or special.

AROMA: Clean barley, flaked malts, pilsner malts, Munich malts. The restrained Noble hop character is grassy, but I'm impressed they get so much aroma for so little in terms of hops. Grainy to style. Attenuation seems ideal. Hints of sweet bread-like malts. Clean and fragrant, suggesting a balanced festbier with a classic flavour. Still, it does seem surprisingly sweet for a festbier...

TASTE: The sweet bready malt notes lend this beer surprising sweetness, and it never returns quite to form; the pilsner & Munich malts get trumped by the sweetness. Attenuation isn't quite high enough, with the yeast struggling to keep pace with the sugars. It does have a nice Noble hop presence, but the subtlety of the grassy notes gets lost in that pesky off-style sweetness.

I hoped for more balance in a festbier, especially coming from Weihenstephaner. I do like it, but this build just isn't dialed in. Not a gestalt beer, but an enjoyable and drinkable one.

TEXTURE: Smooth, wet, refreshing, light-bodied, and well-(if over-)carbonated. It's not the fragile delicate light-as-a-feather mouthfeel of the very best beers in the style, but it aids drinkability and complements the taste nicely.

OVERALL: There are effortlessly drinkable festbiers, but this is not one of them. Highly drinkable, yes, but not in the upper echelon of the style. I wouldn't want to put down more than one litrekrug of this beer - and that's essentially the test of a festbier, isn't it? I won't say I'm disappointed in this, but one always hopes for greatness when approaching any beer from a brewery as incredible as Weihenstephaner. Worth trying, but much to my shock, it isn't neatly within style conventions, and suffers from a troublesome sweetness.

As with many other BA's, I was surprised at the unusually straw colored beer. Where most Oktoberfest beers begin with a bright copper/orange hue mixed in with ligher highlights, this beer reminds me a lot of German Lagers. Even the nose is more hop-forward with a spicy saaz note and haullertau herbal, grassy character. Malts stay clean, crisp, sweet, and bold, with no hints of caramel, toast, or melanoidin taste. Instead, a bold lager-like flavor comes through, though pushing the threshold on sweetness and body. Confectionate sugars with fresh fruity notes (pez-like), give a very pleasant sweet tastes to accompany the pilsner malts. A bit heavy in the body for a pils, begins to bring out a marzen-type weight. Nicely carbonated and bitter. Finishes quite clean with a hop note late and some malty sweet breadiness / yeastiness. It's a very good beer, but not what I consider a Festbier. So, the rating may not reflect the quality of the beer, but style accuracy.

330 ml bottle into dimpled mug, bottled on 4/16/2014. Pours fairly crystal clear bright gold color with a 1 finger dense white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of lemon, pear, apple, cracker, bread, light honey, herbal, grass, light pepper, and yeast earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance of pale malt, earthy hops, and yeast ester notes; with solid strength. Taste of lemon, pear, apple, cracker, bread, light honey, herbal, grass, light pepper, and yeast earthiness. Slight earthy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of lemon cracker, bread, light honey, herbal, grass, light pepper, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice balance and robustness of pale malt, earthy hops, and yeast ester flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, crisp, and clean mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is a very nice pale Oktoberfest style. All around good balance and robustness of pale malt, earthy hops, and yeast ester flavors; and very smooth and crisp to drink. A nicely enjoyable offering.

This is lovely and smooth. The color is exceptional. Perfectly bright amber. Creamy head of foam that does not waste too much time to fall. Nose is malty. A richness form malt. A very quiet coolness form hop in the background. An inkling of spice. Smooth mellow flavor with a tiny tingle from bitterness that reveals how clean the beer is. It has a moment in the finish I would describe as watery but then my attention is drawn back to the palate which has been enveloped by this malt. Crisp finish with a slight bite from carbonation. A touch sweet and without heaviness this goes down as easy as water. "I'll have six more of these please . . . in a big mug . . . Yes now. "

Sliky body, sweet malts, no hints of ABV - class act all around. I’d actually like a bit more punch to let me know that this is a Marzen - it’s on the very light end of that scale. But super easy and impeccably crafted. 4.25

I had just brought the Festbier home and set it in the fridge for about an hour. It was warmer than I prefer, but the taste was excellent. Very, very smooth. Some raters call it hoppy. No, it is not hoppy, if it were , I would not drink it.

It does have the influence of hops, no doubt about it. A noticed hops aftertaste to compliment the maltiness. Awesome. I hope that Weihenstephaner and Sierra Nevada get together next year for the Octoberfest brew SN puts together. Please?

One can hope. I am one and I hope.

The beer taste is decidedly Octoberfest, with an accent of hops and a full keg of taste, especially when warmer. A rater said it is "sweet". Really? Were you awake when you were drinking this wonderful bier? I think not, from your rating. This beer is very good. Sweet is not a word that comes to mind. Thank you. I appreciate being able to drink an actual beer in a SE USA (GA seems to prohibit German beers from entering and being sold in their state) state of our once great country. Hops are necessary, but not the only ingredient needed - are ya listening sweetbackwater??

Thank you Weihenstephaner. I appreciate the honor of drinking your wonderful brew.

this is straight up where its at in the fall, beer geeks seem to need complexity these days, barrels and wild microbes and blends and everything else. well. this proves that simplicity can still be amazing. crystal clear yellow beer here, none of the oranges and caramel colors we are used to in octoberfest types. it has a ton of carbonation, and a puffy white head with great retention, smells like fresh german pale malts, even pils based, with a nice grassy hop thing going on and an autumnal lager yeast that brings it all together. purity in its finest form here, this is traditional and standard setting in my opinion, a perfect example of the style. i dont miss the sweeter malts, and actually prefer this drier and lighter version. i think its really light but still fits the early fall. afterall, octoberfest is in september, not october, and its still warm out, this works beautifully this time of year. refreshing and infinitely drinkable. i wish my fridge was full of them on this first nfl sunday, i could hammer these all afternoon. these guys continue to be the gold standard of german stuff. so affordable too, buying this again for sure. perfect really, underrated by a mile

Bright canary yellow chock full of large bubbles passing small bubbles on their mutual journey up to a polished ivory cap. Is this really an Oktoberfest? I know that 'fest' appears in the name, but it doesn't look like any beer of that style that I've ever seen. Frankly, it looks like a Munich helles lager. It's a good looking one too, especially given a better than average display of lace.

The sniff test tells me that Festbier is anything but an Oktoberfest. It's noble hoppy, probably Saaz, with plenty of lemony brightness. No malt is appreciated in the nose, so it's gotta be pils malt. Now that we have the style confusion sorted out... this is another wonderful smelling beer from the good folks at Brauerei Weihenstephan.

Definitely a Saaz-hopped lager. I'd love to taste this one side-by-side with Weihenstephaner Original since that one is designated as a Munich helles lager. The differences and similarities would be interesting and instructive, I'll bet. Unfortunately, this beer doesn't appear on the brewery's website, so I have no idea what the people who created it think it is.

Festbier is obviously a hop-focused lager with plenty of pungent, citrusy goodness in each mouthful. It's acceptably balanced with a restrained sweetness lurking in the shadows. Most hopheads would consider it to be balanced, even if the majority of beer drinkers wouldn't. I'm glad it comes in pint bottles since I'm enjoying it so much.

The light mouthfeel could stand more bubbles. It lacks a certain expansiveness in the mouth, a light creaminess that more carbonation would provide. While the mouthfeel that has been provided enhances drinkability, it falls a bit short in terms of pleasurabilty.

Weihenstephaner Festbier is a good little noble-hopped lager from a world-class outfit. Even though it's one of my least favorite offerings from 'The World's Oldest Brewery', it's going up against some pretty stiff competition with the likes of Hefeweissbier and Korbinian. Bottom line: you really can't go wrong with any beer that has Weihenstephaner on the label.

Iam reviewing this beer for what it is because it is not a marzen/oktoberfest style of beer if I reviewed to that style well it wouldnt work.Poured into a .5 liter stein a clear medium golden with a tight formed creamy-like white head that left a broken ring of lace behind.Pretty clean aromas a bit of toastiness and iron a decent spicey hop smack that lingers.To me this is a full flavord and bodied pilsner toasty malt with a bit of residual honey sweetness almost to the doughy point but not quite a leafy,herbal hop profile in the finish.This is a pretty good beer why such a renowned brewery would label it a Fest well I have no idea it is what it is and its decent.

Taste  The flavors are big, especially the stiff hop balance. The malts are absolutely gorgeous though. They are just ever so lightly toasted with that beautiful grain aftertaste one can only find in a quality German lager.

Mouthfeel  This is not quite medium-bodied with moderate carbonation and a rich, creamy finish.

Drinkability  This doesnt knock your socks off like the weizen offerings from Weihenstephaner but it is a solid Festbier.

I have been looking forward to trying this beer for a while and boy did it not disappoint.

A - This beer was poured into an imperial pint glass. This beer is absolutely gorgeous. It is a nice golden/hay like color with about two fingers length of head that slowly dissipates into a thin layer which maintains throughout. This beer looks absolute refreshing.

S - The smell is pure malts. There is very little spice presence which seems to be popular in the American versions I have tried.

T - This beer is incredibly refreshing. The malts really shine. However, what is most appealing is the subtle apple and pear notes that come through in the finish. This is absolutely addicting to drink. I wish I had bought more than two.

M - Light, refreshing, crisp. Just perfect for the style.

O - I really really really enjoy this beer. I have been trying to get my hand on as many of this style as I can this year and this one has been by far my favorite. This beer is incredibly addicting. I would suggest picking up a couple of six packs and enjoying throughout gameday for a perfect combination of the season.